Omaha daily bee., 1887-09-10
DAKOTA WINS THE LAURELS.
The Blizzard Department First in the Army
Division Contest
THE AWARDS MADE YESTERDAY
Presentation OF Medals to the Crack
Shots at Bellevue Yesterday-Da-
kota, Texas, the Platte and
Missouri in Order.

-
Yesterday was most interesting day
at the rifle range. 1t closed the seven
teenth annual competition and one of the
best ever held by the selected rifle men
of the United States military division of
the Missouri. The competitors were
composed of team of twelve selected
sharp shooters from each of the four de-
partments composing this military divi-
sion, viz the departments of the Platte,
of Texas, of Dakota and of the Missouri.
Each team besides had two alternates
and was commanded bv captain, also
selected for his established skill as
shooter. The Platte team was com
manded by First Lieutenant James b.
jackson, of the Seventh infantry; the
Texas by Captain Edgar u. Steever, Of
the Third cavalry; the Dakota by Captain
Frazier A. Boutelle, of the First cavalry,
and the Missouri by First Lieutenant
Charles j. Crane, of the Twenty-fourth
infantry.
There were three preliminary days of
informal practice at the range before the
competition was opened. In those days
the men had the opportunity of becoming
familiar with the Typography OF the
range and familiarizing themselves with
the distances, elevations and depressions
of ground, so that their calculations for
rapid work might not suffer, and then
followed the four days of competitor.
Yesterday, the final day, when the scores
were completed and medals awarded,
was of course the most interesting of all.
1t was like the homc-stretch on the last
heat on race course, and to its partici-
pants was fully as exciting, yet it was
witnessed by barely car load of specta-
tors outside of those Immediately inter-
ested and concerned in the work
The preliminary and first three days
were accompanied by the finest weather
that could be desired. Yesterday, however,
opened unfavorably. The rain of the
early morning continued until nearly 8
which were finally cleared away by q
stiff breeze from the north and little
east almost directly into the faces of the
shooters. This was favorably regarded
by the Dakota team, who had been &C
customed to practice under the same
condition, but unfavorably by the Texas
team, whose oftenest practice had been
attended by cross breeze. Yet never
| theless some admirable shooting was
done by each of the teams. In some in
stance is was exceedingly close, and out
of the whole number of shots, as will be
seen by the score. a very few points,
| would have changed the result. The
positions defined by the regulations in the
known distance range require standing
at 300 yards, sitting or kneeling ut 300
and laying down at full length at 500 and
500 yards. In the latter the positions
chosen by the contestants were either
what is known as the "Texas Grip"
with the left leg through the gun strap,
and the left arm under the head and
holding the stock of the gun, the legs
crossed, or the Fulton" where the
shooter lies on the flat of his back with
his legs IN saw-buck position rs a rest
for the gun.
At the commencement of yesterday S
practice, the following were the positions
of the competitors In the known distance
runs. as formed by their records on the
three preceding runs:
| Sergeant Mitchell, Third infantry. ...... .33s
Sergeant Palmer, Third infantry. .32t
Gorporl Peterson, Eth cavalry. .Ss;
Lieutenant: Macomb, Fifth cayalry....... 81
First sergeant Unger, Fifth infantry. .32(
Corporal Kelly. Sixth infantry. 81
Sergeant Wood, Twentieth infantry; .....S .S0
Sergeant Randall, Eighth cavalry ........ so
Sergeant Crow, Twentieth infantry. .30t
Private Morgan, Nineteenth infantry. 30
Lieutenant Hardin. Eighteenth infantry. 30
Private Dahlquist, Third cavalry. 80
Lieutenant Kerr Seventeenth infantry. 30
Sergeant Lewis, Seventh infantry .......2 .29
Private Miller, Third cavalry, 80
| Sergeant Fields, Fifth infantry .2S
Sergeant Scholle, Seventh infantry.......2S
Private Deitz, Seventeenth infantry. ..2S
OF the above contestants Dletz, Nor
gan, Feeney and Lieutant Hardin hat
previously carried off medals and wer
regarded as crack shots. For some rea
son Dietz fell far below his record, an
he failed yesterday to do much towar
-, h,s Dll n tkn n1o
firing at 200 yards, Sergeant Palmer
who had worked himself previously up t
the second position on the preceding
days, seemed yesterday to have becom
ratified and dropped to the fourth pos
J ton, from which he failed to recover
and Peterson and Feeney climed to th
third.
In the 500 yards run Peterson she
, ahead to first position got tie wit
, | Mitchell and Palmer managed to cor
| tinue fourth.
The last run of the known .distanc
range-that for 600 yards, while not S
] high at the head of the score in its ave
ages over the first runs, showed an al
i around gain from head to foot that We
| something remarkable. 1t showed MOI
uniform ability at long range than 1
medium.
Following is the score of the 600 yart
: and test run:
| | Mitchell. ........-.............. ...... q
Palmer. ........................
I.etefSon. n..."'....... ..''.'.'...''...''..''' y
FeeDey. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. a
| MalcOmD, .,...................... =
| Unger. ..................... =
Kelly. ly.............. ......................" =
= WOOD ...............'.'.'.
clearinghouse. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
4 | Randall. ...................... y
- | CrOW ........................ =
morgan ....................' ...'.'...........
| ItaIulH. .''.........'..''...'
| oeekdInD. .s............... 4
g DahlqueSt. ........... NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 4
|